(Newser)
–
The disclosure by the New York Times of secret Justice Department memos greenlighting the use of torture techniques on terror suspects has triggered an uproar on Capitol Hill. Democrats have demanded to see the memos, which authorized head-slapping, sleep deprivation, freezing, a near-drowning technique called water boarding and other painful treatment by CIA interrogators.

Senator John D. Rockefeller, chairman of the Intelligence Committee, blasted the secrecy of the opinions in an angry letter to the acting attorney general. "I find it unfathomable that the committee tasked with oversight of the CIA interrogation program would be provided more information by the New York Times than by the Justice Department,” he wrote.